How to Identify Wild Mushrooms in Colorado
Wild mushrooms grow all over the place in Colorado. Some of these mushrooms are edible, while others are fatal. Certain mushrooms are known for their druglike effects. This is evidenced by mushrooms being associated with magical creatures. Learn as much as you can about wild mushrooms in Colorado. This knowledge may mean the difference between life and death. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Obtain a book that concentrates on wild mushrooms in Colorado (see Resources). Go through the book’s description of the mushroom you’re looking at. Read the book’s edibility description. Refrain from eating the wild mushroom if the book describes it as poisonous. People have suffered from consuming poisonous wild Colorado mushrooms.
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Understand that an Amanita muscaria, or fly agaric, grows near pine growth. If you think that you’re looking at an Amanita muscaria, look at its gills. They will be white. The mushroom is a reddish in color and has spots. Don’t eat these wild Colorado mushroom because they're poisonous.
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Realize that Ganoderma applanatums grow on pine trees. Don’t damage their pore surfaces, because this will stain their white surface. You’re looking at a Trametes versicolor if you see a turkey tail-looking mushroom. Don’t eat either of these wild Colorado mushrooms, because they’re not edible.
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See the wild Colorado mushroom, with its red surface, as a poisonous mushroom. If you see this mushroom in a pine forest, you’re looking at a Russula emetica.
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Memorize the order that the mushroom guide lists mushroom characteristics. Take note of these characteristics when you see a wild mushroom. Go through these characteristics in your wild mushroom guide. If the characteristics listed in the book are different from your wild mushroom, than you may not have a match. Keep searching the guide until you find a match to the mushroom you’re looking at.
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Tips & Warnings
Check the links in Resources for additional information on these mushrooms, especially the poisonous ones.
Find a mushroom expert who can identify wild mushrooms in Colorado. Make trips with this person, and learn how to identify mushrooms while under expert guidance.
Take pictures of the wild Colorado mushrooms in your yard. Go to the library, check out a book on mushrooms and match your pictures to those in the book.
Don’t eat poisonous mushrooms. Some poisonous mushrooms look like edible mushrooms. If you’re not sure about a mushroom’s edibility, don’t eat it. Purchase mushrooms from the produce section of the grocery store instead.
Don’t assume that because someone ate a poisonous mushroom and survived that you will. If it’s poisonous, it will kill. It’s that simple. Don’t play Russian roulette with poisonous mushrooms.
People have experienced druglike effects after they’ve prepared and consumed the Amanita muscaria. This mushroom’s association with magical creatures is no accident. Don’t try to replicate their experience. They were lucky that they weren’t killed, though they may have wished that they were dead while recovering.
